Do
You Make These Link Building Mistakes?
Do You Make These Link Building Mistakes?
Many people know that link building plays a vital part in high
search engine rankings. But it must be done right. Otherwise, sites
with fewer links will rank higher than yours ! How is that possible
? Let me explain.
Google made links important a couple years ago. They started to
virtually ignore on-page factors (keyword density, title etc.) and
focused almost exclusively on Links.
Google counts number of links to a web page (link popularity) and
what those links say about a page (link reputation).
Link Popularity and Link Reputation
So there's a common first mistake. Many people don't know the difference
between link popularity and link reputation. They think any link's
good. Did you know that 20 links, with the hyperlink text containing
your keyphrase, can outrank 50+ links without a keyphrase ?
note: keyphrase means the words you want your page to rank high
for e.g. if someone searches on the keyphrase 'email marketing'
then you want most of the links pointing at your page to say, 'email
marketing' in their hypertext link.
Ever wondered why only your home page gets traffic? People get
links to their home page only, and don't even know they're making
a mistake ! Google, in particular, sees a web site as a collection
of individual pages, with each one ranking individually.
So, for example, if your home page gives info on 'email marketing',
then you want lots of links saying, 'email marketing'. If one of
your sub-pages gives info on 'email software' then that page needs
its own set of links saying, 'email software'. Most people think
any high ranking for their home page will automatically mean high
ranking for other pages in the same web site. It doesn't. Each page
ranks individually.
Internal Link Structure
Link Building isn't just about external links. You need the right
link structure within your own site. Many people make the mistake
of using graphic navigation bars. Search Engines often can't even
follow these links, so your sub-pages don't even get indexed. It's
beyond the scope of this article to get into detail on the important
internal linking structure, but you can make a good start by using
text links instead of, or in addition to, graphical navigation links.
Then the search engines can follow your links.
On-Page Factors
Finally, not all search engines treat Links with the same importance
as Google. Yahoo, MSN, Inktomi make much more use of on-page factors.
And guess what ? You control on-page factors, so there's no excuse
for getting this wrong. Be sure to get your keyphrase into title,
description, headings and body text. Don't overdo it and try to
spam the search engines with excessive use of keyphrases, but be
sure they know what your page is about.
With the right link building strategy, your search engine rankings
will soar, and you'll start getting all those visitors that will
electrify your web business.
About the Author Neil Stelling is Marketing
Manager of DigiLectual Inc. and Author of LinkBuilding101, a comprehensive
video guide to link building. Why do some people get an avalanche
of profitable website traffic… without spending a dime, while
others get nothing ? Neil Stelling has created LinkBuilding101 to
show you how. Click (http://www.LinkBuilding101.com/lbm)
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